British Columbia Magazine: Ancient cedars saved

In an ethereal valley near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, more than 100 remarkable Douglas-fir and red cedar trees have held their ground for centuries. Members of the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance came upon the gnarled titans - some over 60 metres tall and more than four metres in diameter - in December 2009. Soon after, they learned the area was slated for harvest and launched a campaign to save "Avatar Grove." Earlier this year, the provincial government expanded an existing old-growth management area, where logging and mining is prohibited, to 59.4 hectares, encompassing the grove in its entirety.

Avatar Grove has "some of the most bizarre and beautiful giant cedars known," says Ken Wu of AFA. "It's definitely a place of superlatives."